House Panel Offers P1M Reward for Information on Mary Grace Piattos
MARY GRACE PIATTOS – The good government and public accountability panel of the House of Representatives has announced a P1 million reward for anyone who can provide information about the name that frequently appears on the acknowledgment receipts for confidential funds in offices under Vice President Sara Duterte.
Jeff Khonghun, a Zambales representative and the panel’s vice chairman, made the announcement after Duterte dismissed the ongoing investigation into the budget use of the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and the Department of Education (DepEd), claiming it was politically motivated rather than a legitimate inquiry. Khonghun emphasized the need to uncover the truth and stressed the importance of talking to people who signed the receipts, including Piattos, who is a key figure in the investigation. He urged anyone who knows her whereabouts to come forward and is offering a reward for information.
The issue arose after the OVP and DepEd submitted documents with errors, such as incorrect dates, unsigned receipts, and unclear signatures, to justify their confidential fund use for 2022 and 2023. COA auditor Gloria Camora revealed that many acknowledgment receipts were undated, and some had illegible or missing signatures. In total, there were 787 receipts with unnamed signatories and 302 with unreadable names.
During the hearing, the legitimacy of “Mary Grace Piattos” was questioned. Camora stated that Piattos could be a real person but noted that the name appeared as “Mary Grace Piyaty” on the receipts, which is similar to a popular junk food brand.
Khonghun defended the authenticity of the receipts, pointing out that they were officially submitted by the OVP to the Commission on Audit (COA) and argued that it would be impossible for these documents to be fake. The investigation continues as the panel seeks clarity on how confidential funds were handled and who was involved.